Just a reminder that some rising first years will not have had the same opportunities to earn money and save for college expense due to the pandemic. Families with higher risk member have kept their kids out of the typical teen work force. Plus, many summer camps and programs were cancelled.
$50/week seems about right as long as you’re willing to cover the occasional big expense. For example, does a kid who moves from the south to a colder climate need to buy more warm clothing or a pair of boots.
We send my Sophomore $300 a month. In fairness his dining hall is horrible so he does spend a good bit on groceries and meals out. My husband and I feel that working in college is a lot to manage and we set that expectation for my soon to be Freshman as well. Yes they have their own money so if he wants to blow $60 on a new game that’s on him, but it’s simpler for me to say here’s your money, use as you wish but don’t come looking for any more lol.
We send our daughter $250 per month to spend as she likes. At the beginning of each semester, we place a bulk order for toiletries that usually last her a couple of months. We belong to a warehouse club so items are cheaper than what she can buy in the stores closest to her (she doesn’t have a car at school). We also pay for airport transportation and the occasional expense like a new winter coat or club sport/intramural fees.
Yes, $50 a week is about right for freshman living on campus with all of those other things covered in a non-urban area. Our kids supplement with their own money and…then D21 is still linked to our amazon account and there are a lot of deliveries getting charged to us.
My husband likes to fantasize about what his college life in the 80’s would have been like with access to our “unlimited” Amazon account - lol!!
And do not believe the myth - Off campus is not really cheaper…S19 is racking up the costs off campus this year in an unfurnished apartment he has to commute from.
My child had a debit card with the same bank and we would have discussions about money if he needed extra before I added funds. I sent gift cards to local fast food, Target/Walmart, etc. Hooked his uber/lyft account up to my credit card for emergencies.
I didn’t have an “allowance” but then again, my kids didnt have that when they lived at home either.
My younger S is an authorized user on one of my credit cards. He uses that for essentials. Freshman year on campus, it was for things like books & toiletries. Very little actually. Off campus, he can use it for groceries, or car maintenance, etc.
Fun money - eating out, movies, clothes, etc are generally on him. But I do give him $50/month because it makes me happy since he is doing so well. And I also tell him to use the card to take his GF out to eat for special occasions like his bday or celebrating getting an internship.
Older S was similar except he didn’t have the credit card. He lived on campus for 3 years so he had very few expenses. He would tell me what he spent on essentials and I’d reimburse him. The card is much easier.
My D is in an urban area, so I expected that she’d eat out with her friends and I gave her $500/mo. Lucky for me her friends are all careful with money, so she ended up only spending about $100/mo. I’d suggest starting at $200/mo and adjust from there.
My daughter shares a townhouse with 5 others, she bought the furniture in her bedroom from the previous tenant for $150. Everything in the townhouse was purchased 2nd hand. She saves about $4000 a year cooking and not having a meal plan.
I think this is very location dependent. We are saving a ton of $ with D living off campus. She’s in an unfurnished apartment next year but a friend is giving her all her furniture because she doesn’t want to move it home. Her school basically has the equivalent of an on campus goodwill for used furniture too where things are dirt cheap.
I understand - He is in an area of the country where rent has skyrocketed during Covid. They ended up with some free items from home, but it was little things like needing a box spring and having to get it delivered at times when one of them could be there.